The Chicago Blackhawks remain undefeated in the New Year after besting the Washington Capitals 3-2 in a shootout at Capital One Arena on Saturday night. The Blackhawks are now 2-0-0 since the calendar turned to 2026 and have also earned a point in three consecutive games.
Chicago raced out of the gates on Saturday in the Nation’s Capital, scoring just over one minute into the game to grab an early 1-0 advantage. Ryan Donato netted his 10th goal of the season by redirecting Ilya Mikheyev’s shot from the blue line.
It didn’t take long for the Capitals to answer back, however. Less than five minutes later, former Blackhawks forward Dylan Strome evened the score 1-1, also netting his 10th goal of the season.
With the two teams tied after 20 minutes, the Blackhawks regained the lead near the midway point of the middle stanza on their lone power play opportunity in regulation. Tyler Bertuzzi set up Teuvo Teravainen for his third goal in as many games to put the visitors back ahead 2-1.
Chicago held onto the lead until under 10 minutes were remaining in the third period. Rookie Ryan Leonard swatted home a rebound off Matthew Roy’s shot at the point to even the score again.
The two teams remained tied through 60 minutes, and then neither squad could convert during the three-on-three overtime period. So, for the third time in the Blackhawks past five games, a shootout was required to determine the winner.
In the end, it was trusty captain Nick Foligno who registered the shootout winner in the bottom half of the sixth round to give the Blackhawks an extra point and back-to-back victories. It’s also worth pointing out that Andre Burakovsky, who tallied an assist earlier in the game on Teravainen’s goal, came up clutch in the bottom of the fifth round to further extend the shootout. Sonny Milano gave Washington the edge by scoring in the top of the fifth, but Burakovsky answered back to keep his team alive.
Here are the highlights from the Blackhawks’ 3-2 shootout win over the Capitals, moving their record to 16-18-7 through 41 games.
FIRST PERIOD
Chicago struck first just over one minute in, as Donato deflected Mikheyev’s shot from the point for his 10th goal of the season. It’s Mikheyev’s fifth point in the last five games and his third in as many nights. 1-0, Blackhawks.
Ilya Mikheyev➡️Ryan Donato🚨
Donato deflects Mikheyev’s shot to give the #Blackhawks an early 1-0 lead with his 10th goal of the season! Mikheyev now has 5 points in the last 5 games.pic.twitter.com/3raPEf1r8b
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) January 4, 2026
Shortly after Donato’s tally, former Blackhawks forward Dylan Strome tied the game 1-1. Strome got to a loose puck off Ethan Frank’s rebound before Nick Lardis for his 10th goal of the year.
Both sides had plenty of chances to score more than once in the opening 20 minutes. The Blackhawks led 25-20 in shot attempts, 13-11 in scoring chances, and 7-6 in high-danger chances at even strength.
SECOND PERIOD
After Jakob Chychrun was whistled for roughing just over three minutes into the second period, the Blackhawks went to their first power play of the night. Just over one minute into the man advantage, Bertuzzi set up Teravainen at the far post for his ninth goal of the season. Teravainen has now scored in three consecutive games, while Bertuzzi has points in four of the last five.
Andre Burakovsky➡️Tyler Bertuzzi➡️Teuvo Teravainen🚨#Blackhawks regain the lead off Teravainen’s 9th goal of the season! Teuvo has now scored in 3 straight games. Bertuzzi has points in 4 of the last 5.pic.twitter.com/3DNqvAKGEa
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) January 4, 2026
One of the best scoring chances in the second half of the period came from rookie Oliver Moore, as he races down a loose puck off his dump-in attempt to generate a quality scoring chance.
Teravainen’s tally was the lone goal of the period, as the Blackhawks led 2-1 with 20 minutes to play.
THIRD PERIOD
Chicago hung onto their one-goal advantage through the first 10 minutes of the third period, but eventually, the Capitals found a way to even up the score.
Leonard deflected a shot from Roy at the blue line to tie the game 2-2 with just under nine minutes remaining.
SHOOTOUT
First to go for Chicago in the shootout was Lardis. The rookie skated into the zone with some speed and snapped a shot past Logan Thompson’s glove. 1-0 Blackhawks after the first round.
Strome went second for the Capitals, and he beat Knight for the second time in the game to even up the shootout. It was a nasty forehand-backhand move by the former first-round pick.
In the top of the fifth round, Milano made a series of stickhandles and snuck a shot past Knight’s blocker. The Capitals were one stop away from a shootout win.
But Burakovsky came through in the clutch to extend the game, utilizing a similar move as Lardis to beat Thompson glove side. The shootout was tied through five rounds.
After Knight stopped Chychrun in the top of the sixth, the Blackhawks captain hit the ice with the game on his stick. Just like his two successful teammates, Foligno picked on Thompson’s glove to net the shootout winner in just his third game back in the lineup.
Foligno let out a massive celebration after giving his team the win.
The Blackhawks surely had a much better mood on their flight back to Chicago with two points in their back pocket, instead of just one.
Next up is a meeting with the Vegas Golden Knights at the United Center on Sunday for the back end of a back-to-back, which has given the young group fits so far this season.
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